LCHS implementing a 'Community Discussion' Feb. 3

[January 21, 2010]  At the request of the LCHS superintendent and District 404 Board of Education, an informal "Community Discussion" will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 3 in the high school media center to help develop an action plan for Lincoln Community High School. Emphasis at this meeting will be placed on the fiscal 2011 budget, values and mission, perceived strengths and weaknesses, similarities and differences regarding perceptions, planning to plan, and next steps.

This is an attempt to gather community direction on aspirations and expectations for school district performance.

For background, see the statement below from LCHS.

For further information, contact the superintendent's office at 732-4131.
 

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From Robert B. Bagby, LCHS superintendent, and the District 404 Board of Education:

One of the most challenging, yet vital roles for locally elected school board members is to gather community direction on aspirations and expectations for school district performance. Listening to constituents before taking action has been described as a trait of true representative leadership. For a variety of reasons, school boards can gain important input by conducting a structured, yet informal community discussion in order to detect or reaffirm the district's ends.

Today more than ever, boards of education need to practice "courageous leadership." This requires leadership to bring the community together for the public school and the courage to allow the community to know, understand and wrestle with the complexities involved in clarifying its aspirations and expectations.

The community discussion process can provide the school board with data and direction to effectively establish district values, mission, vision and goals and to review progress toward reaching these goals. In fact, the process can help focus community expertise and interest toward practically any educational issue -- from finance to school safety and discipline.

Because many district planning processes primarily involve school parents and staff, it is estimated that 70 percent of the community may have little or no input. Employers, senior citizens, non-parents and other taxpayers with no direct tie to a public school may have no means for sharing their insights into the community's overall needs in the school and from the school. By hosting a community discussion, a school board is able to reach out and seek that feedback and ensure its rightful consideration.

Ultimately, a community discussion can give the district a snapshot of expectations, suggestions and needs from a cross section of the community. This snapshot can then become an essential tool used to determine the core values, mission, vision and goals of the district, which become the basis for all planning and decision-making.

In this spirit and at the request of the superintendent and board of education members the Feb. 3 "Community Discussion" has been scheduled to help develop an action plan for Lincoln Community High School 404. Change is constant and we rely on change for personal as well as organizational growth. Positive change does begin with effective planning. Emphasis at this meeting will be placed on the fiscal 2011 budget, values and mission, perceived strengths and weaknesses, similarities and differences regarding perceptions, planning to plan, and next steps.

We look forward to the continuing efforts in developing objectives and tasks for our district school improvement plan, which will lead us down the path of organizational growth and development, keeping the success of our students as our primary focus.

For further information, please contact the superintendent's office at 732-4131.

[Text from file received from LCHS]